Siege of Caffa

Siege of Caffa
Part of Genoese–Mongol Wars
The remains of a Genoese fortress in Feodosia
Date 1345–1347 Location Caffa, Crimea 45°01′N 35°13′E / 45.02°N 35.22°E / 45.02; 35.22 Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Republic of Genoa	Golden Horde
Commanders and leaders
Simone Boccanegra[a] (1345) Giovanni I di Murta[b] (1345–47)	Jani Beg[c]
Strength
Several thousand	Several thousand
Casualties and losses
Several thousand	Several thousand

The Siege of Caffa was a 14th century battle between Jani Beg's Golden Horde army and the city of Caffa, today Feodosia. The city was then part of Gazaria, a group of seven ports located in Crimea and belonging to the maritime empire of the Republic of Genoa.

After two years of siege, the Mongol armies were forced to withdraw. The siege is famous for a story recounted by Italian notary Gabriel de Mussis, which attributed the subsequent spread of the Black Death to plague-infested corpses having been launched over the walls at the end of the siege.
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